What If…? Crossover Event Edition

My third installment of my What If…? column and still the ideas keep flowing. The more books I read in a week, really the more comics I even read about, I always think, wouldn’t it be great if there was crossover event that really had a lasting impact?

I know that many of you will say that things like Crisis on Infinite Earths, or Infinite Crisis, or The Mutant Massacre had lasting effects… but did they really? There was change and it was okay for a while, even for years, but just like elastic, the universes always seem to bounce back to where they were before. Maybe not exactly, but close enough so it seems a lot of work for as little lasting change as we see.

Even if we just stay focused on the deaths in both the Marvel and DC universes. Mar-Vell, Hal Jordan, the X-Men, Captain America, Johnny Storm, the X-Men, Superman, Jason Todd, Elektra, the X-Men, and no one stays dead anymore. Even if they were dead, there is some amazing thing that resets the entire universe and then everyone is alive again.

House of M is a perfect example. Starting with a nervous breakdown and ending with a whispered word from the Scarlet Witch, House of M brought a juxtaposition to the plight of human versus mutant that was very interesting and thought provoking. The world was remade in a mutant utopia that was exactly what many of the mutant groups had been striving for all their lives. But it was just too perfect? Something itched at the back of their minds… Just as in The Matrix, the mutants could not believe that this utopia was real. In the end, it all went back to normal, except that there were only 198 mutants… oh, and Carol Danvers was alive again.

I guess it is just frustrating when you get attached to a character or team and go through all the trouble to collect everything about them and they die. This evokes a true emotional response that is very difficult. It takes time to accept. Look at the events surrounding Superman’s death or the sacrifice of Barry Allen. What kind of sadistic person would put someone through the stages of grief only to come out 12 months later and say that that person was not really dead?

I’ll tell you who, those sicko comic book writers, that’s who. I want someone to really die and stay dead. No, this is not some twisted fantasy, although I have a list, it is just that someone who sacrifices themselves should actually be remembered and honored for that sacrifice. Is that too much to ask? Have someone else take up the mantle like they did with the Blue Beetle.

Anyway, enough of my ranting. Please comment your rants and let’s get some discussion going. As always, thanks for reading and send those good thoughts out in to the Multiverse.

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About The Author

Aaron has been reading comics since he was in 5th grade. He only had children so that he could still buy comic books and toys without looking like a nerd. Most of the things he buys are never touched by his kids. He has a vast collection of stuff that his wife constantly complains about.

The Event book (which I actually did not enjoy very much at all) Zero Hour led to the killing off of that era's Legion of Superheroes and a complete re-boot of that series… That was a lasting effect. And it led to the handing off of the Starman Mantle to Jack Knight, which ended up being one of my favorite books of the 90's. Other than that, I completely agree with your article. There can't be that much change though, because the fans need to know that their favorite characters are still there and the essence of the book remains the same.